One Week
by LoryLynn1186
Summary: Their fights never lasted this long. What if their relationship wasn't as strong as they thought? Inspired by "One Week" by The Barenaked Ladies.
1. One Week

**A/N: I can't explain where this idea came from; all I can tell you is that I was driving home and listening to "One Week" by the Barenaked Ladies and my muse struck. It's a sneaky little devil.**

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It's been one week since you looked at me,

_threw your arms in the air and said "you're crazy"_

It had all started as a normal work day. They had spent most of the day interviewing associates of Corporal William Hayes, a Navy officer with high level Pentagon clearance that had gone missing three days prior. His wife and two sons had no idea where he'd disappeared to and neither did his neighbors or anyone he worked with.

"Well that was three hours of my life I'm never getting back," Tony joked dropping his pack next to his desk. At the desk opposite his Ziva mimicked his actions, her pack hitting the ground with added force. She pulled open several desk drawers before slamming each one close. Tony looked up from his computer screen and studied her closely. "Something wrong?"

"Why would anything be wrong?" she answered curtly. She unclipped her gun and badge and placed them in her drawer before taking a seat.

"Well either something is wrong or you're just angry with your desk." When she didn't respond to the bait Tony stood from his chair and perched himself on the edge of her desk. "What's wrong?" he repeated.

Ziva glared at the computer in front of her, refusing to meet his eyes. If she didn't look at him she could keep up her facade, but one look in those eyes and he would know she was lying. "I am fine, Tony. If you don't finish your report Gibbs will never let us leave."

He got the hint: conversation over, we'll talk later. With a sigh Tony moved back to his desk and went to work on his report. He'd talked to five different people that day which required five different reports to be filed even though each had said nearly the same thing. _'Stupid bureaucracy.'_

NCIS

_'Four down, one more to go,'_ he thought triumphantly. Throwing his hands in the air, Tony stretched backward listening to the bones of his back and neck pop in and out of place. Hours hunched over a computer could be murder on spinal alignment. The lights in the bull pen had been turned down as most of the people left. McGee had finished his paperwork hours ago and left just as quickly. Gibbs was somewhere, probably getting his umpteenth cup of coffee. That left only him and...

"Ziva?" he called. Her desk was empty but the computer and light were still on, indicating that she was still somewhere in the building. Rising from his desk he decided to take a short break and search for his wayward partner. She wasn't in the breakroom, not in MTAC, Abby's lab was empty. Stepping out of the elevator he heard water running to his left. _'The bathroom! Duh!'_ Without thinking twice he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Tony!" Ziva shouted from the sink. "You can not be in here."

Tony laughed. "You come in the men's room all the time. And it's not like anyone is in here."

"This is different." She washed her hands concentrating on the soap bubbles instead of the man standing behind her.

"What's wrong Zi?"

"I have already told you, nothing is wrong."

"And I know you're lying," he said. "You might be able to fool some people Ziva but I'm not one of them." He walked up behind her, placing his hands on the counter on either side of her body essentially trapping her between his body and the sink. "I know you Zi. I know you better than you think."

"I find that hard to believe," she growled. Tony mistook the sound for one of passion and dropped his head to her neck, kissing the flesh there softly. "You have to be joking," Ziva said shoving her body backward, knocking Tony off balance causing him to stumbled backwards.

"What?"

"You are incredible! To even think that I would touch you after that little stunt you pulled today."

"What are you talking about?"

Ziva huffed. "That woman! You were all over her!"

Tony scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "What are you--you're talking about Petty Offficer Pierce? I was schmoozing her."

"Whatever you call it, it was disgusting!" She tried to storm past him but Tony caught her arm. "Let go of me."

"Ziva I was trying to get her to talk, nothing else." He searched her eyes hoping that she would believe him. "It was all part of the job."

Ziva yanked her arm back. "You are crazy! Do not try to use your job as an excuse," she yelled throwing her arms in the air. "I really thought you had changed Tony." She disappeared out the door leaving him standing alone in the women's bathroom.

"I have Zi," he whispered shoving his hands in his pockets. His voice echoed off the tiled walls. "I changed for you."

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**Let me know what you guys think! Hit the review button below....you know you want to.**


	2. Five Days

**Chapter 2: Five Days  
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! Hope you like this chapter just as much!**

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_Five days since you tackled me,  
__I still got the rug burns on both my knees_

Two days ago she'd stormed out on him and not a word was spoken about the incident since. Work was tense but livable. Gibbs had given them several looks showing his disapproval of the disruption to their normal work environment. Their bantering had all but ceased and any exchanges made between them were specifically work related.

"DiNozzo, my office," Gibbs finally ordered.

Tony begrudgingly left his desk and followed his boss into the elevator. The doors closed, the emergency switch was flipped, and Gibbs's hand connected with the back of his head. Tony flinched but said nothing.

"I don't know what you did. I don't care what you did. Just fix it."

"I didn't do anything," Tony argued.

"You two haven't so much as looked at one another without some smartass comment being thrown around." He leveled his eyes and his senior field agent, "Fix it."

"It's just frustrating. She's so--"

"I don't wanna know about it," Gibbs interrupted.

"Plausible deniability," Tony finally surmised. "You don't care about Rule 12?"

"The rules are there for a reason DiNozzo."

"To be broken?" he guessed earning another slap. "Guess not. How do I fix it?"

Gibbs laughed. "You're asking the wrong person." He flipped the switch, bringing the elevator back to life. "Treat her right...Tony."

Tony's head snapped up. It was rare that Gibbs ever used any of their first names, so when it did happen there was something bigger at work. He knew the relationship between Gibbs and Ziva was unique and he wasn't going to question it. Tony realized that should anything happen to Ziva Gibbs would hold him personally responsible; he cringed at the thought.

NCIS

Later that evening Tony sat in his car on the street in front of Ziva's building. He sat there for a good half hour just staring up at her window. _'She probably knows you're here. Might as well go up.'_ He pulled the keys out of the ignition and crossed the street, jogging up the stairs until he arrived at her door on the second floor. His hand was poised above the door but he couldn't bring himself to knock. _'Gotta have a game plan.'_ Before he could formulate one, his phone beeped signaling a text message received.

'I know you are there. Come in.'

"She's good," he said with a smile. Pushing the door open he found her sitting in the living room cleaning her gun. _'That's not a good sign. Hot as hell though.'_

"You are here to talk?" she asked concentrating on her task.

Tony swallowed the forming lump in his throat. "Yeah. Look Zi, I'm sorry about what happened, but you need to know I meant nothing by it. I was just trying to get her to open up. Sometimes you gotta work them a little bit, you know that."

Ziva's eyes flashed in anger. She set the gun on the coffee table and stood, crossing the distance between she and Tony. "Do I?" she asked sweetly.

"Maybe?"

"You are so clueless," she said moving past him into the kitchen.

Tony followed her pausing in the doorway and blocking her only exit. "So give me a clue Ziva! Tell me what the hell I did wrong so I can fix it!!"

"If you do not know how to fix it, I am certainly not going to tell you." She grabbed a bottle of water out of her refrigerator and attempted to leave the kitchen but Tony was blocking her way. "Move."

Tony shook his head. "I'm not moving until we figure this out."

"Move," she said a little more forcefully. "Or I will move you."

Tony stood his ground matching her hard stare with one of his own. "Then move me."

In an instant the water bottle hit the ground and Ziva rushed at Tony. She grabbed his arm and spun him around so his back was pressed against her chest. She grabbed his other arm to prevent movement and pressed it to his body. She shoved him forward until his knees hit the carpet.

Tony yelped in pain. "Point taken, Officer David. Now let me go."

Ziva smirked, releasing him and watching Tony climb back to his feet. He dusted off his pants and turned to her with a glare. "Why do you rely on your charm when you have so many other options?" she asked returning the attention back to their previous subject. "You are a good interrogator Tony, you do not need tricks."

He felt a bit of a blush rising to his cheeks from her compliment. "It worked on you didn't it?" Immediately he knew that was the wrong thing to say._ 'Oh...not helping.'_

Ziva looked up at him, pain in her eyes. "Is that what happened? You tricked me into loving you?" Tony was speechless as his brain attempted to catch up with the situation. She loved him? She loved him and he was saying it was all a trick? God he was an idiot!

"Ziva..."

"I think you should leave."

He opened his mouth to protest but the look on her face stopped him. Her usual mask was gone and for once her emotions were on display for the world to see. It made Tony sick to his stomach to know he had caused that pain. Sighing in defeat he turned and left, closing the door behind him. He leaned back against the door letting his head rest against the thick wood. "I'm sorry Ziva."

Ziva dropped to the couch and leaned her head back staring at the ceiling. _'Why does this have to be so hard?'_


	3. Three Days

**Chapter 3: Three Days  
****A/N: Over 300 hits and how many reviews?! C'mon guys I'm not one to beg.....but pretty pretty pretty please review!! :D**

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_It's been three days since the afternoon,  
__I realized it was all my fault not a moment too soon._

"So what you're telling me is we have nothing?" Gibbs shouted.

"We do know that Corporal Hayes left for work on September 18 and was never seen again," McGee offered earning him a blank look from across the bullpen.

"We have nothing, Boss," Tony admitted.

"Find me something!" Gibbs barked as he retreated from the bullpen.

"Campfire!" Tony shouted much to the dismay of his coworkers. McGee rolled his eyes and begrudgingly dragged his chair from behind his desk to the center of the room. Ziva did likewise crossing her arms over her chest as she joined Tony and McGee. "We need a lead soon or Gibbs is going to fire us all."

"We've have barked up every bush there is," Ziva said.

"Tree," Tim corrected automatically. "I've run his financials. The only activity on his any of his cards has been corroborated by his wife as her personal spending. BOLO on his car has had several hits, none have panned out."

"What about the neighbor?"

"Robert Shaffer," Ziva picked up the line of thinking, "has lived next to the Hayes family for almost two years. Said he saw nothing out of the ordinary in the days prior to Corporal Hayes' disappearance."

"He seemed to be hiding something," Tony added. "He was a little...hinky."

"Should we talk to him again?" McGee asked.

"Ziva and I will go," Tony said. "Campfire over."

NCIS

When they arrived Mr. Shaffer was in his garage with the hood of his truck popped up.

"Mr. Shaffer," Ziva called.

He glanced up from the engine with a smile. "Call me Robert," he said wiping the grease from his hands onto a towel. "What can I do for you, Officer David?"

Ziva smiled sweetly. "You can call me Ziva. We just have a few more questions about Corporal Hayes."

"I've told you everything I know," Robert said.

"I was hoping you had remembered something else from that day," Ziva said. "Perhaps something suspicious from that morning or the previous night."

"I wasn't home the night before. I was…with someone," he eyed Ziva and smirked.

Ziva smiled. "And do you go out often?"

Tony hung back leaning against the hood of the car and observing the scene. He was interested in Shaffer's body language not what he had to say. And what his body was telling him had Tony on edge. He was obviously interested in Ziva, a blind man could see that. The thing that was bothering him was that Ziva was playing into his game, leaning in a little closer, smiling broadly and laughing softly. She was blatantly flirting with this guy and it was pissing Tony off. How dare she let this guy hit on her, and right in front of him no less! It was absurd, it was disgusting, it was…exactly what he had done. The realization dawned on him and he dropped his head in defeat.

'_Why didn't I see it?'_ he thought bitterly. She was playing him, giving him a taste of his own medicine. And it tasted like hell.

NCIS

"Get anything?" McGee asked as the pair returned to the squad room.

"Ziva got something," Tony growled.

Ziva glanced at him before answering her coworker. "Robert did not give us anything we did not already know."

"Robert?"

"Robert Shaffer, the neighbor."

McGee quirked his eyebrow. "Since when do you refer to suspects by their first name?"

"Since when is he a suspect?" Ziva countered.

"Since he seemed to have something to hide," Tony answered. He locked eyes with Ziva having a silent conversation across their desks.

After a few seconds Ziva shoved back from her desk. "I am going to see Abby."

McGee watched the scene with a mix of amusement and fear. Having one of them pissed off was bad enough, let alone both of them. It was going to be a long day.

NCIS

"I already told Gibbs that I would let you guys knew when the DNA came back," Abby called as Ziva entered her lab. She didn't even bother looking up from the computer screen.

Ziva smiled. "I am not down here for test results."

Abby's head whipped around. "Ziva! What's up?"

"I needed to get out of the squad room. Tony is driving me crazy." She pulled up a stool and took a seat leaning her elbows on a clear spot on the evidence table.

Abby cocked her head to the side. "Problems in paradise?" Ziva only rolled her eyes. "What'd he do now?"

"He is being childish and immature," she explained. "When I became angry with him for flirting with another woman he told me he was only doing his job--"

"Wait, Tony was flirting with another woman? In front of you?"

"She was a potential suspect and he was trying to…schmuck her."

Abby looked at her perplexed. "Schmuck?"

"You know…work her over, make her melt with his 'DiNozzo charm'."

"Oh! Schmooze her?" Abby asked and Ziva nodded. "I still can't believe he would do that in front of you. It's just rude."

Ziva dropped her eyes to the table. "Well I am sure he realized how inappropriate it was when I did it today."

"Ziva!"

"You can not tell me he did not deserve it?" she defended herself.

Abby sighed. "You know if you fight fire with fire someone is going to end up getting burned."

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**Only one more chapter to go. If I get a lot of reviews I might post it later today....**


	4. Yesterday

**Chapter 4: Yesterday  
****A/N: Here's your final chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I wrote and rewrote this chapter 4 times. Hopefully this one is a winner. Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  
****And for all those who have been asking about my other stories, I promise I will update them soon. I haven't given up on either Waking Up In Vegas or Glimpses of Us. More chapters will be coming...eventually.**

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_Yesterday you forgiven me,  
__Now I'll sit back and wait till you say you're sorry._

"She's been down there a long time," Tony said to no one in particular as he stared at Ziva's empty desk. McGee looked at him but said nothing. "What do you think she's doing anyhow?"

"No idea, Tony."

"I bet she's pouring her heart out to Abby."

"Does Ziva pour her heart out to anyone?" Tim asked. Seeing the look on Tony's face he quickly amended, "Aside from you that is." The elevator dinged and Tony's eyes darted to the silver door, his shoulders falling when someone else walked out. "This is stupid, just apologize."

"Why should I apologize?"

"Because you obviously did something wrong and it's driving you--and me--crazy," McGee said.

"What would you know about it, McSingle?" Tony growled.

"I'm just saying--"

"Don't," he interrupted. "Just stay out of it Probie." Tony stormed from the bull pen leaving McGee to sit and wonder how much longer he was going to have to deal with his overly moody coworkers.

**NCIS**

He pounded his fist against the vending machine, cursing under his breath. Why did this thing hate him so much? It spit his dollar out for the fifth time causing Tony's blood pressure to skyrocket. All he wanted was a freaking Snickers!

'_If you stop forcing things they will come to you.'_

With a deep sigh Tony leaned back against the machine slamming his head back against the glass. Her words always seemed to come back to haunt him. She was like a mental ninja, she knew just how to sneak in and hit him where it hurts. He was going to have to do some major league groveling to make up for the last few days.

**NCIS**

"Stupid door," Ziva growled pressing the silver circle for the tenth time. She'd spent way too much time in Abby's lab. Surely Gibbs would be looking for her, probably to tell her she was fired. When the doors finally opened she was surprised to see Tony waiting in the elevator instead of Gibbs. He was leaning against the back wall, arms crossed over his chest, eyes staring intently at the floor in front of him. The elevator alerted him that his desired floor had been reached causing him to look up and immediately catch Ziva's gaze.

"We need to talk," he said just above a whisper.

She stepped between the doors and let them shut behind her. Pressing the button for the fifth floor Ziva waited for the elevator to begin its ascent before flicking the emergency stop switch. She looked at Tony expectantly.

"I screwed up," he began. "I know I'm new at this commitment thing, but you gotta believe me when I tell you that I never meant to hurt you. I love you, Ziva, and I would never do anything to hurt you or what we have together." Tony took a moment to just stare at her, gauging her reaction before continuing. "Think you can forgive me?"

Ziva's face was unreadable, as she'd been trained to keep it that way, for a few moments. Tony felt like he was in front of the firing squad waiting for the command to fire. Finally a small smile graced her lips. "I forgive you, Tony. And for what it is worth I may have blown things out of proportion."

Tony smiled reaching forward and capturing her lips in a chaste kiss which she returned with equal enthusiasm. They broke apart, Ziva flipping the emergency switch and bringing the machine back to life.

"We should get back to work," she said placing another quick kiss to his lips.

**NCIS**

They'd made significant headway on the case, based on an anonymous tip that Corporal Hayes had a mistress who had also disappeared. McGee and Tony had spent upwards of three hours tracking Veronica Milan, her financials, friends, and anything else they could learn. Ziva and Gibbs had gone back to talk to Mrs. Hayes, now armed with the knowledge of the affair, hoping to discover some more clues.

"Go home," Gibbs bellowed. "We can't do anything more until the morning. Get some sleep, I expect you to be back here at 0700."

McGee quickly shut down his computer and grabbed his gear. "Good night," he called on his way to the elevator.

"Why the rush McGoo? Hot date?" Tony teased.

"Actually Tony I do have plans tonight."

"Really?" DiNozzo laughed. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"None of your business," McGee said disappearing into the elevator.

Tony watched him leave, making a mental note to torture him tomorrow for further information on his lady-friend. But that would have to wait until tomorrow, right now he had more important things on his mind. "What about you Zee-vah? Any plans tonight?" Her desk was empty, computer shut down, and everything put back in its proper place. "Where…"

"Why are you still here?" Gibbs asked rounding the corner to his desk.

"I was--"

"Go home DiNozzo."

"Yes boss,"

When he got home nearly half an hour later, Tony was pleasantly surprised to see Ziva sitting on the couch with two pizza boxes in front of her on the coffee table. She was toying with her sleeve and looking particularly nervous.

"Well surprise, surprise," Tony called setting his gun and badge on the counter top.

"What took you so long?" Ziva asked not making eye contact with him. "Your pizza will be cold."

"I like cold pizza," he said taking a seat on the couch next to her and reaching for the top box. He opened it to reveal a pizza stacked with vegetables and closed it back up. He grabbed the bottom box and dug into the meat lovers pie inside. "Not that I don't appreciate the dinner, but why are you here?" Tony asked around a mouthful of pizza. "And how did you get in?"

"I picked your lock," she answered. "I came to apologize," She took a deep breath and began, "I overreacted earlier this week and I am sorry about that. It is hypocritical coming from someone like myself."

Tony scrunched his eyebrows. "Hypocritical?"

"I am not new to the concept of using sex to get information," she explained climbing to her feet and beginning to pace. "But it is different when you are in a relationship. It bothered me so much because I was jealous of her Tony. And that scares me."

"There's no reason to be afraid of this Ziva."

"I know that but…I have never been one for relationships. Mossad taught me that emotional connections make you weak. They can be used against you. And I never want that to happen." She dropped back onto the couch, running her fingers through her hair. "It scares me how much I rely on you."

"We're partners Zee, we're supposed to rely on each other," Tony explained.

"This goes beyond our partnership."

Tony turned so that he was facing her and took her hands in his. "Do you love me, Ziva?"

She looked deep into his eyes and smiled. "You know I do."

"And I love you. That's all that matters. Forget Mossad, forget NCIS, forget everything other than us." He leaned forward and captured her lips, pouring a week's worth of pent up emotion into the kiss.

Breaking away from him, Ziva sat back. "Sometimes I wonder if that is enough Tony," she whispered.

Tony smiled stuffing his hands into his pockets. "How can I make this right Zee?"

"I don't know."

He huffed taking her hands into his yet again. "Will this work?"

She was about to ask him what he was talking about when she felt a metal object sliding over her finger. She looked down and found a silver ring with two small mounted diamonds on her hand. Her eyes flashed to Tony with a questioning look. He only smiled back.

"I've come to realize that I can't imagine my life without you Ziva. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up next to you every morning. I want to be with you Ziva, no matter how hard it gets." He took her hand and kissed her fingertips.

"Are you asking me to marry you?" Ziva asked incredulously. She couldn't believe he would choose now of all times to do this.

"No…yes," he laughed. "I'm making a commitment to you. If and when you want to get married, I'll be here."

Ziva thought about this. She was not ready to get married at this point in her life and a part of her wondered if she ever would be. She never thought about it before, mostly because she never thought she'd live long enough to do so. She'd chosen a dangerous profession and she had to live with that choice. "This is a big step."

Tony smiled nervously. "Yeah it is. Especially for me, but I feel like it's the right time. I love you, sweetcheeks."

Ziva smiled feeling a calming relief settle over her. "I love you too, my little hairy butt."

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**Again I'm not crazy about the ending, but it's the best I could come up with. Sorry if it sucks! lol**


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